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Are You a Minimalist, a Maximalist, or Somewhere in Between?

October 13, 2015

Tuesday, October 6, 2015, by Curbed Staff

!Photo by Martyn Thompson via AD España.

There’s been a shift of late in the design world. Where a kind of minimalism once reigned supreme—a hybrid Japanese-Scandinavian style that seemed, ultimately, aimed at making us throw everything out and live like monks—eclectic maximalism has slowly regained its footing.

While this editor has long been an avowed moderate on issues of decor, we get the appeal of the extreme. Monastic-style living holds appeal because, let’s face it, for most of us, mess is a (too) real part of our daily lives, and gorgeous, uncluttered interiors are the dream. “But!” maximalists will say, maximalism isn’t clutter. And they’d be right! Mixing textures, colors, prints, patterns, and materials to beautiful effect is an impressive skill and, for many, an outlet for personal expression. But so to is reigning in the impulse to buy, buy, buy in the modern age and instead collect and display only one’s most coveted objects and mementos

Patterns and colors galore in a home featured on Design Sponge. Photo via Design Sponge

Inside a Swedish “dream home” with a serious minimalist bent. Photo via Villa Poppy
So, where do you stand? Are you a maximalist at heart or a minimalist for whom the peace of living with as few objects as possible is the goal? Vote and sound off in the comments below